This invention relates in general to signal devices for letter boxes and deals more particularly with an improved auxiliary door operated sight signal device for attachment to a rural mailbox.
In rural areas mailboxes are usually located a substantial distance from the homes which they serve. Consequently, a boxholder may be required to walk a substantial distance to check his mailbox, often only to find that it is empty. Rural mail routes are planned, relative to the flow of traffic, so that in many instances all of the mailboxes along a route may be located along one side of the road. This arrangement presents potential hazards for the residents living on the opposite side of the road who must cross the road to pick up mail.
In accordance with postal regulations, each rural mailbox is provided with a standard red signal flag which may be raised by the postal patron as a signal to the mail carrier to pick up mail left in the box. The mail carrier is required to lower the red signal flag after collecting the mail from the box, but is not permitted to operate any other auxiliary signal device which may be provided. When mail has been left in the box for pick up by the mail carrier, the postal patron may determine, by the position of the red signal flag, whether the box has been serviced. However, if the red signal flag has not been raised to signal the carrier to pick up mail, the box-holder must inspect the mailbox to determine if mail has been delivered.
Heretofore, various door operated auxiliary mailbox signalling devices have been provided for indicating when the door of a mailbox has been opened. However, it is the practice of many rural carriers to ony partially open the door of a mailbox when only a small amount of mail is to be deposited. Consequently, many of these devices are not entirely satisfactory, because the door of the mailbox may not be opened a sufficient amount to assure proper operation of the device. Further, when the box-holder picks up his mail, he must reset the signal device so that it will operate properly the next time the mailbox door is opened. Many of the signal devices heretofore available cannot be easily reset from a position in front of the mailbox. This arrangement is most inconvenient for the box holder who prefers to pick up his mail without leaving his car.
Other auxiliary signal devices heretofore available have proven difficult to install on a mailbox and have required special tools to effect installation.
Accordingly, it is the general aim of the present invention to provide an improved auxiliary door operated mailbox signal device which will operate in response to partial opening of a mailbox door. It is a further aim of the invention to provide an improved automatic signalling device which may be readily reset from a position in front of a mailbox so that it may be operated from a drive-up position by a person seated in a motor vehicle. A further aim of the invention is to provide an improved door operated device of simple durable construction for low cost manufacture and which may be installed on a mailbox by a person of ordinary skill and without the use of special tools.